All the higher-ups clearly saw the withering strength of the enemy.Be it those that landed on the island to attack or those that flew around in search of weak points, the demons were incapable of finding a way in. Under Eleanor"s precise attacks, every minute that they stopped posed a huge risk to them, resulting in extremely high injuries and death counts that were unacceptable for the Devilbeasts.
Soaring in the air meant speed, agility, and zero hindrance from the terrain. The Devilbeasts had ruled the skies for centuries and always held the absolute power on the battlefield. But in the face of the floating island, they probably never expected that more than half of them would fall even before seeing their enemies.
There were even demons that had started to turn tail and retreat… or in other words, escape.
This was the perfect opportunity for the humans.
The core goal of Plan B was to obtain the highest kill count in exchange for the smallest cost, so pursuing the retreating enemies was deemed as the absolute opportunity to build upon the result. This was not a novel idea, but Eleanor Skycruiser was the only thing capable of switching between defense and offense seamlessly.
This was also the Skycruiser"s most prominent aspect as compared to other flying platforms.
Under Tilly"s command, the command center immediately operated and switched to the corresponding procedures.
"Channel pressures contained, all steam pressures are working as per normal!"
"Hangar doors one and six are about to open, please standby and clear the runway!"
"Ground service reports that they need five more minutes of preparation."
"The first wave of counterattack force is in position!"
With the large longitudinal s.p.a.ce, the hangars were designed for multiple take offs. And with the hangars situated at the center, they were allowed to project and scatter from the lower levels. Before being used, the interior runways were protected and blocked off by several heavy and thick doors and could only be opened using steam engines.
Although every runway track had substantially decreased in length and were a third of the runways on the surface, it was sufficient for the light biplanes. In addition, it was not an issue if they did gain sufficient initial velocity, the floating island"s ground surface elevation was enough for the heavier planes to raise their noses.
"Are you not taking action personally?" Roland looked at Tilly.
"This is a rare opportunity, I"ll have the newcomers take it for practice." The latter laughed and raised the radio to her mouth. "Once the hangars are opened, move out immediately. The goal—to kill off every single one of them!"
…
Although it was not Good"s first time moving out via the interior runway, all his previous experiences were practice runs.
He finally understood why Her Highness emphasized on wearing earm.u.f.fs.
More than 50 sets of biplanes sealed inside the warehouses revved their engines at the same time, producing rumbles that could only be described as astounding. Even at a distance of two to three meters, the ground servicemen who screamed could not be heard and appeared to be mouthing words.
From the second the order was given, all Aerial Knights communicated with hand gestures and flags.
Good was the first to roll out and enter a flight position.
From the bubbling steam, the steel doors thicker than a grown man opened slowly, extending the runway further out into the distance. The door towards the end had a clear and distinct [01] written on it.
With Princess Tilly"s absence, he had become the undisputed leader.
I guess the first plane at Door 06 should be Manfeld.
Challenger, huh…
He grinned slightly.
Rachel, can you see this now?
I used to look up at the n.o.bles from a distance, but they are now chasing after me.
Although he didn"t express that clearly… putting it that way wasn"t too bad either.
The ground service crew before him pushed out a wooden board with large cards that indicated the wind speed, temperature, and the floating island"s rate of advancement. Ordinarily, the hangar doors would open against the wind, giving the planes much more rising power. But considering that the hangars might be attacked in wartime, they had to expect the possibility of not using the most optimal runway in battle. At this time, wind speed, and the other parameters became extremely important, and the pilots had to pre-empt, adjust, and prepare for acceleration and the initial drop.
Good gave the ground service crew a thumbs up.
Right at this moment, the last steel door finally opened.
The bright and dazzling sunlight instantly broke apart the shadows at the end, expanding from its initial small crack until it illuminated the entire runway.
Strong winds gushed into the hangars and dispersed the lingering engine smell.
Tailwind at grade five meant it was the perfect opportunity to attack—
The ground service crew raised a green flag and waved down with all of his strength!
"Runway clear, Good is moving out!" Good shouted and jammed the control stick down.
The Fury of Heaven roared and took off towards the light. In the accelerating process, he noticed the ground service crew members lining his sides and they were waving at him.
Upon cutting through the light, a short brilliance of white covered his entire vision, but was quickly replaced with all sorts of things as the vast and limitless world entered his vision. There were no longer any noise blasting into his ears, as though everything had turned silent in an instant. The fresh air that brought about the sweet scent of vegetation made him take a deep breath.
Good took off the earm.u.f.fs and flew upwards, ascending above the floating island.
The tracer rounds around directed him towards a certain direction.
He caught sight of the Devilbeasts fleeing around 60 kilometers away, and immediately gave chase without hesitation!
…
Before the magic power projection, Roland couldn"t help but clench his fists.
This was what a Skycruiser should be like!
The gigantic ma.s.s, the abundance of weapons, and the ability to unload aircraft—just the sight of it was enough to overwhelm everyone with emotions!
One after another, biplanes shot out from the mountain, giving chase and killing all the demons that managed to slip through the cracks. The Aerial Knights that were multiple times faster than Devilbeasts quickly held an overwhelming advantage.
While attacking the Deity of G.o.ds at the Impa.s.sable Mountain Range, they had lost over 10 sets of planes just to suppress the Devilbeasts. But this time, aside from the loss of a few unmanned machine gun turrets, the 200 Devilbeasts did not kill or cause any harm to the humans.
"It"s now our time to give the enemy a headache." Edith sneered. It was apparent how the demon"s use of the Deity of G.o.ds to self destruct and kill off humanity had greatly troubled her. To be able to use a similar object to retaliate made her elated and converse with a lighter tone.
"I reckon that they will use a larger force to retaliate next." Iron Axe spoke up, "Or send out a senior lord-ranked Senior Demon."
Roland quietly recalled the information regarding senior lords. According to Valkries, aside from Silent Disaster that was proficient at offense, there was the other demon hailed as Blood Conqueror. But the latter was one promoted from the Lords of h.e.l.l and was more suited for ground combat, since no Devilbeasts were able to bear his size.
On second thought, the demons" King"s giving Hackzord command over the Western Front was a fortunate thing for the humans.
"Regardless of what means they employ, we will be able to take them on to the end… But they don"t have much time left." Roland looked at the map.
The last 250 kilometers of distance was depicted with a red line. There was only three days left for the Eleanor Skycruiser to arrive at its destination for the final battle.